The research team will be plugging in a number of 

 variables — fish growth rates, mortality, dockside 

 values — so that managers can numerically "model" such 

 problems as when to open shrimp season. The team will 

 be modeling four fisheries — bay scallops, New River 

 shrimp, hard clams and blue crabs in Pamlico Sound. 



The computer won't untangle all the fisheries 

 problems. But it can give managers a better idea of how 

 their management schemes affect the resource and the 

 people they manage. 



Managing people means getting out the word about 

 changes in seasons, gear restrictions or regulations to the 

 fishermen who must abide by them. How do fishermen 

 pass the word about regulations changes or a new piece of 

 gear? That's what Jeffrey Johnson wants to find out. 



He will be talking to fishermen to find out how they 

 transfer information among themselves and how they 

 seek information from other sources. Johnson wants to 

 know if certain fishermen are looked to as innovators and 

 information sources. And he'll want to find out what 

 makes a fisherman a leader — age, education, fishing 

 success or wealth. 



Johnson's findings will be particularly helpful to Sea 

 Grant marine advisory agents who try to keep fishermen 

 abreast of the latest changes in fishing gear, markets and 

 safety equipment. And a fisherman equipped with the 

 latest fishery innovation may just bring a few more fish 

 back to the dock. 



And it's not just commercial fishermen who use the 

 resource. What about the thousands who fish for fun? 

 Peter Fricke, Leon Abbas and Jim Sabella have been 

 finding out more about the recreational angler who fishes 

 the North Carolina sounds. And this year, the team will 

 be completing a study started in 1981. They want to 



know how many fishermen use the state's sounds, what 

 they fish for, how they fish, where they fish, how much 

 money they spend, what their attitudes are toward 

 fisheries management and more. Using the team's 

 findings, fishery managers will know which recreational 

 species are in greatest demand and how great the demand 

 is. The findings can also be used by local and regional 

 governments to plan for boat ramps, access areas and 

 zoning regulations that promote the economic activities 

 that surround recreational fishing. 



The researchers: 



Kenneth McKaye, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 

 Duke University 



David Colby, Southeast Fisheries Center, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service 



Charles Peterson, Institute of Marine Sciences, Univer- 

 sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 



Jim Easley, Department of Economics and Business, 

 North Carolina State University 



Ann McDermed, Department of Economics and 

 Business, North Carolina State University 



Tom Johnson, Department of Economics and Business, 

 North Carolina State University 



Peter Fricke, Institute for Coastal and Marine 

 Resources, East Carolina University 



Leon Abbas, UNC Sea Grant, North Carolina State Uni- 

 versity 



Jim Sabella, Department of Sociology and 

 Anthropology, University of North Carolina at 

 Wilmington 



Jeffrey Johnson, Institute for Coastal and Marine 

 Resources, East Carolina University 



Photo by J . Foster Scott 



